Coca-Cola (KO)

It doesn’t pay to argue with Santa Claus. It’s apparent that when he’s done rocking the world and stocking homes with presents from Alaska to Zealand (New) that he settles in for the polar bear drink of choice, Coca-Cola: The Real Thing.

This high-quality company doesn’t often drift (or bubble) to the highest return forecasts but the quality rating is steady and top shelf. In this case, the Value Line low total return forecast is 10% — still a couple of percentage points above the median stock. In the accompanying visual analysis, we see a company growing at 5-6%. (The years before 2011 have been suppressed and removed from the trend because the data array wouldn’t include the combination of Coca-Cola Enterprises.)